The allure of luxury comes from its ability to innovate and influence. The ‘dreamlike quality’ of luxury products is often related to craft, authenticity and heritage. Luxury brands that are traditionally based on high quality, superior durability, and deeper value are more likely to preserve social and environmental values. Reliability and perceived durability lead the consumer to an attitude of trust so that there is no fear of defects. Upon extremizing the concept, we can say that a luxury product is associated with an image of perfection and eternity.
This artisanal quality and heritage of luxury brands can be associated with sustainability, as consumers do not want to throw away an item that is designed to become timeless. Therefore, even if luxury items by definition may not be considered sustainable because they suggest non-essential purchases, they may lead sustainability because of their emphasis on this artisanal quality, heritage and craftsmanship
Luxury brands are obliged to be more daring when it comes to sustainability, as it’s one of their best opportunities to disrupt and achieve disproportionate revenue and profit growth in their respective markets. But that also means that brand storytelling has to go far beyond talking about sustainability. The future of sustainable luxury is creating desire-inducing brand narratives that connect sustainability with the brand’s strategy to create lasting customer value.
The industry will set an example by answering key needs: durability, valuable, and distinctiveness. In 2021 we will see smarter approaches applied with the aim to reduce complexity and realign overproduction. The idea of luxe as ever ending accessibility will switch to normalising circularity in the minds of the society. The challenge ahead is to communicate such values in a trustworthy way, and engage in deeper partnerships that deliver a primordial yet contemporary message. A synergy of old and new has to take place.
Eventually, it is a matter of Culture.
The definition of culture is the manifestation of one’s intellectual and moral achievements regarded collectively plus an awareness of one’s role in society. It’s not by chance that its semantic root has the word “cult,” the same found in the term “cultivate.” Here comes “culture” viewed under an anthropological sense, able to condition personal choices and shape material lives according to the evolutionary process, historical and environmental needs. However, to guarantee a shift in consumers’ chain of values it is necessary to convey a tangible and lasting message able to overcome any sort of negative connotation or hesitation linked to the change.
Consumers still consider the ‘true values’ of luxury significant, which suggests that luxury brands need to promote their true values credibly to consumers so that consumers can perceive how those values are in line with the evolving culture of environmental concern and demand for conscious, forward-thinking products and practices. Consumers expect quality, purpose-driven products, and a degree of cultural credibility from their
purchases. This is particularly important for the iGen, today’s most influential and trendsetting consumer group for luxury brands, as they perceive themselves as brands and will only associate themselves with brands that are sustainable at their core.
In a particular way, luxury is facing a radical cultural change, accelerated by inevitable global variables, which brings a transformation of its concepts, its models, the essence itself of luxury. At the center of these alterations stands the need to find a figure able to act as a bridge, connecting the legacy of luxury to the future society. This year marks the juxtaposition of holding on to the origins while projecting and safeguarding our future. We witness rescheduled priorities that push the concept of less is more, raising the percentage of brands embracing the made-to-order business model. This trend doesn’t limit its spread among the industry launches but most especially manifests in communication, where the luxury world has room to leverage its desirability transmitting values.
Luxury put into consideration how to successfully transmit everlasting values to people through effective storytelling, and came to the conclusion that to succeed in engaging consumers in sharing new values, is essential to provide a sense of resiliency and durability, The Luxury Prospective Director becomes a guarantor of such a purpose, introducing a solution to the need of identifying both the upcoming trends within the industry, as well as its communication and culture. This previously unseen figure holds, along with the knowledge of the past, a stronghold for traditions yet displaying an eye towards the future by spotting the talents of tomorrow.
This is how Luxury will build the bridge that connects the legacy and the timelessness to the future. Scouting for talents will definitely be the leading direction of the luxury world: young leaders of tomorrow with flexible skills and adaptive creativity, able to succeed in the ever-changing luxury scenario.
